If Patricio Freire was looking to make a statement heading into this fall's featherweight tournament, consider it done. "Pitbull" had little trouble with Jared Downing through two rounds, and in the third he drilled Downing with one punch that sent him right to his back. Downing's head bounced off the canvas, and that was all that needed to be seen. Freire moved in with his fist cocked, just in case, but it wasn't needed – Downing wasn't getting back up from the one-punch knockout. With the win, Freire (18-2 MMA, 6-2 BMMA), whose only two losses have come to eventual or current Bellator champions, is back on track heading into his Season 9 145-pound tournament opening-round bout against Diego Nunes. Downing (9-3 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) now has lost two in a row.